Wang Ming's Happiness, I Finally Understand

Fortunately...

There was still a letter hidden in his chest.

A letter from General Zhang Shi.

Perhaps it was precisely this letter that gave him confidence and hope, spurring him to suddenly muster courage he had never possessed before.

He left!

Left... then he would go serve General Zhang Shi!

Xie Liu had nowhere else to go, so he went to the government office, took a horse, mounted it, and spurred its flanks, letting it gallop like a shooting star toward the address General Zhang Shi had given him.

The wind howled along the road, but he was not afraid at all.

Finally, as dawn was about to break, he found the temporary military camp where Zhang Shi was stationed.

At the gate, he quickly dismounted and announced his name.

“Sir, sir, I am Xie Liu, the farm overseer of Luofeng Slope, invited by General Zhang Shi to come and serve. I beg you to report this.”

By chance, the guard at the gate was one of Zhang Shi’s personal soldiers, who knew of Zhang Shi’s plan. He looked Xie Liu up and down, frowning.

“You?”

“You’re the farm overseer?”

“No, don’t be ridiculous, okay?”

With that, the soldier pulled a few copper coins from his pocket, tossed them to Xie Liu, and said, “Brother, now that the Lord Duke has arrived, Cloud Capital is different. You look healthy and capable; if you’re not lazy, you can at least make something of yourself.”

“Don’t be a beggar anymore.”

“A grown man—aren’t you ashamed?”

“Wait, you’re not a thief, are you? Did you steal that horse?”

Only then did Xie Liu realize the soldier had misunderstood him, and his heart ached with sorrow once more.

So this was how wretched he had become!

In others’ eyes, he was worse than a beggar!

He had to suppress the surging emotions within him, clasped his hands, and said, “Sir, I truly am Xie Liu, the farm overseer of Luofeng Slope. I beg you to pass the word.”

The soldier looked him over again, noticing that although the man was shabby and destitute, his demeanor and actions were not those of a beggar.

After hesitating, he said, “Wait here a moment.”

He turned back to fetch Zhang Shi.

“What?”

“He’s here? You mean Xie Liu, the farm overseer, has come?”

Zhang Shi jumped up at these words.

No way, brother, it actually worked!

And the effect was this good!

A single letter really could match ten thousand troops!

“General, I don’t think he looks the part—he’s rather shabby…”

Before the soldier could finish his report, Zhang Shi rushed out. When he saw Xie Liu from a distance, he suddenly remembered—hell, he didn’t even know what Xie Liu looked like! He quickly summoned Lu Shuang.

Lu Shuang had once caught a distant glimpse of Xie Liu and recognized him immediately. Zhang Shi’s wild joy then erupted fully.

“Wang Ming’s happiness…”

“Now I truly understand!”

Zhang Shi quickly led Xie Liu back to the camp. Instead of asking about business first, he first inquired about Xie Liu’s romantic situation—after all, this would be a required lesson on his military campaigns, an area needing improvement.

Soon, he had the whole story.

And he promptly gave Xie Liu a guarantee.

“Xie Liu, you’ve divorced now, right?”

“Alright, I’ll make you a promise.”

“From now on, every coin you earn is yours.”

“No, I’ll have the Lord Duke write you an order. With the Lord Duke’s order in hand, you’ll have no trouble.”

“Of course, if you’re still uneasy, I’ll have the Lord Duke ask His Majesty for an imperial decree—no, I’ll have the Lord Duke request an imperial decree for you.”

“The money you earn is all yours!”

Xie Liu’s eyes grew warm, and tears spilled over.

He dropped to his knees with a thud. “I, Xie Liu, am willing to serve General Zhang Shi with utter devotion until my death!”

Zhang Shi stood there, feeling utterly exhilarated.

That’s all it took for devotion unto death?

Winning people’s loyalty was this simple?

Zhang Shi’s confidence surged uncontrollably. His understanding of Cloud Capital’s so-called “love-brain” mindset might not have deepened, but his psychological advantage grew stronger.

So Zhang Shi looked down at Xie Liu kneeling before him and decided to make him even more convinced.

“This is what you deserved all along; no need to be so grateful. But tell me—earlier you said you left your marriage to Wang with almost nothing, right?”

Xie Liu, still emotional, struggled to answer. “Yes, nearly empty-handed, but…”

He gave a bitter laugh. “Given how quickly my wife... no, my ex-wife Wang spent money over these years, I hadn’t saved much anyway.”

Zhang Shi immediately said, “But didn’t you still own a house?”

“Even a rundown house is worth something.”

“According to the laws of Great Yu, when a couple divorces, the wife may take her dowry and the fruits of her labor after marriage, but she cannot take ancestral property, post-marriage real estate, lands, or servants.”

“You’re kind-hearted and didn’t want to ruin your ex-wife Wang, and I respect that. But your house—you can’t just give it to her, at least not entirely.”

“That house came from half your life’s work; you deserve a share, and the biggest share at that.”

Hearing this, Xie Liu’s bitter smile only deepened. “General Zhang Shi, that house was bought years ago, and we were still paying off the monthly installments…”

“Besides, my wife loved jewelry. Last year, to show off in front of her close friends, she pawned the house.”

Zhang Shi’s eyes widened.

No way, brother, this is...

Too pathetic to look at!

So you toiled half your life and ended up with nothing? Hell, I wanted to help you claim justice, but I don’t even know where to start!

At that moment, Zhang Shi felt deep sympathy for all those crushed under the tyranny of “love.” He also understood more clearly why the Lord Duke was so fixated on dealing with these love-brain types.

When such love-driven thinking runs rampant, the damage is far worse than ruining a country—it could tear the whole world apart!

...Well, come to think of it, this world had already fallen to pieces long ago.

It took Zhang Shi quite a while to calm himself. He reached out and helped Xie Liu to his feet. “Brother, listen, your coming to serve me this time is already a notable achievement.”

“But if you can sincerely lead me to secure everything in Luofeng Slope—especially the sweet potato fields and the sweet potatoes headed to Pukou City—that will be a great deed.”

“Under the Lord Duke, we always reward meritorious service.”

“A contribution as big as yours will come with considerable rewards.”

“I can tell you’re not interested in promotions, so let me just apply for a cash reward for you. For now, let’s set it at one thousand silver taels. What do you think?”

Xie Liu’s body trembled violently. “H-how much?”

“One thousand taels,” Zhang Shi said. “Of course, this is only the beginning. Given your usual diligence, if you work earnestly under the Lord Duke, promotions and raises will surely come.”

“Your good days are still ahead.”

Xie Liu couldn’t stop shaking.

One thousand taels!

In his lifetime, he had surely earned that much, but never once had he actually seen such a sum.

He had never even seen a hundred taels, let alone a thousand.

Now, he was to receive a reward of a thousand taels?

Xie Liu felt dazed, as if he were in a dream.

"Here, this is one hundred taels. I, the General, have advanced it from my own pocket. Take it," Zhang Shi said generously. He had seen what Xie Liu desired most and, pulling out his own money, had someone bring a hundred taels of silver and place it before Xie Liu.

The dazzling white light made Xie Liu’s eyes sting.

But before he knew it, tears were streaming down his face.

With a thud, he knelt again: "General Zhang Shi, from this day forward, at your command, I, Xie Liu, will walk through fire and tread on blades without so much as a frown."

"Wrong!" Zhang Shi corrected him. "You are serving the Lord Duke, not me."

"Yes!"

Xie Liu’s reply shook the air.

"Good. Then lead the way. Our army... will now march straight on Luofeng Slope."

"Yes!"

...

At Luofeng Slope, Wang had put on her finest makeup and was strolling leisurely with a close friend, her face beaming not with the sorrow of a recent divorce, but with great joy.

"Congratulations!" her friend said repeatedly. "From now on, you are free."

...